A substantial soup to keep out the chills

This is a quick soup that's easy to whizz up and stores well for a few days. I like using spring onions as it gives a fresh green colour after blending but it's purely aesthetic - a small onion would work perfectly well too.

I'm always impressed by how healthy soups are (on paper), right up to the point that I butter my bread and swirl in the cream... Life without cream or butter? Unthinkable.

Creamy leek, celery and stilton soup

2 large leeks, washed and sliced into 1cm pieces
3 large sticks of celery, chopped
1 small potato, cubed
1 bunch of spring onions
1 small clove of garlic
25g butter and a drop of olive oil
500ml vegetable stock
75g stilton or other strong blue cheese
black pepper
single cream

1) Melt the butter and oil in a large pan and sweat the leeks, spring onions and garlic for about 10 minutes over a low heat, until they are transparent and soft but have not coloured.

2) Add the celery, potato and stock and leave to simmer for another 15 minutes, or until the potato is cooked through. Add the stilton, stir through and then leave to cool a little before blending. A jug blender is far easier than a stick version, as this should really be very smooth and it will take a few minutes to get there.

3) Check for seasoning, and add pepper and salt, if needed. The stilton is already pretty salty but this will vary from cheese to cheese.

4) Serve with a swirl of cream and a good chunky doorstop of bread and butter. Delish.